Thoughts and questions regarding just about everything while taking a daily stroll with my dog.

Thursday, November 06, 2014

Will Hillary Be Relevant In 2016?

I've watched Hillary move about the country campaigning for mostly lost causes and wonder if her star power has already faded. She is over weight and not aging well. Botox shots only last so long and the natural aging process becomes more and more difficult to hide.

She has had one transient ischemic attack already, that is known. It is suspected she may have had more as indicated by her changing speech patterns. The knowns, much less the unknowns, will become an issue. Especially if she ends up being challenged by a kinetic fireball like Elizabeth Warren.

She isn't the best of speakers being strident in manner. It's not the most positive of images.

All that perhaps can be excused because after all she is Hillary. But will it be enough? In 2016 will she even resonate with the voting bloc or will they be seeking a younger, more energetic individual with a vision? That's another thing Hillary lacks though she's certainly not alone. That vision thing. Voters are beginning to demand their candidates present solutions to their problems, not just an admission that they exist. Finally, having been beaten down enough, voters are waking up.

Who else do the Democrats have? That's a good question if they don't want to move as far left as Elizabeth Warren. Joe Biden?

I look at the potential Republican field and see the same uninspiring faces. Cruz whose rhetoric is sometime suspect. Rand Paul who is still figuring out what he stands for. Marco Rubio is still too wet behind the ears. Chris Christie is too bombastic. Jeb Bush. Another Bush? Not likely. Other than Bush, none have ever run anything. Nor has Hillary. But they are all younger and exude energy.

A couple of fresh faces are now emerging. Ohio's John Kasich and Wisconsin's Scott Walker retained their governorships. They are politically astute and they've experience running large state governments. They could be formidable competition for a former Secretary of State who had a less than stellar tenure marred with still unanswered scandal.

So the question is whether or not the Democrats can recognize damaged goods and gently ease someone else to the forefront or if they will be forever be beholden to Hillary because she is - well - Hillary.

Time will tell. If the Republicans manage to get their act together over the next two years I'm thinking voters, especially the up and coming young ones, will be asking Hillary who?